EMMC gets technology information awards

BANGOR – Eastern Maine Medical Center announced that it has achieved national recognition for its use of information technology in managing patient care. EMMC is the winner of the 2008 Nicholas E. Davies Organizational Award of Excellence, sponsored by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society.

The award is given to hospitals in the United States that effectively use information technology to improve the safety and quality of patient care. Previous winners include Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and the Ohio State University Health System.

In a statement, Dr. Eric Hartz, the hospital’s chief medical information officer, called the award a “crowning achievement” for hospital employees and the community.

“We have worked hard for nearly a decade to implement the most advanced computer systems on the market to allow instantaneous sharing of health information among all healthcare providers involved in a patient’s care,” Hartz said. “When the software that was currently available wasn’t doing the job we wanted, we challenged our vendors to work with us to build something better. It has been a tremendous collaboration.”

The Davies Award was initiated in 1994, and the first awards were granted in 1995. The application process includes a two-day on-site survey by a team of inspectors.

“EMMC represents a shining example of how to implement and utilize the electronic health record along with other technologies in enhancing the delivery of high quality, evidence-based health care,” said Dr. Brian Jacobs, chairman of the Davies Award Organizational Committee and chief medical information officer and executive director of the Center for Pediatric Informatics at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

The awards ceremony will take place in April 2009 in Chicago.